Finally some good news.

[dontbelieveawordofit]

Yeah, I can’t believe that China with 1.4 billion people have only had 4,600 deaths.

yeah , but they’re pretending now that it’s back in beijing. and it came from .... guess where.... europe. NOT

 

[durhamplumber]

This drug has been around for years,

Covid 19 has not

 

[Mottie]

Had the drug had been used to treat patients in the UK from the start of the pandemic, up to 5,000 lives could have been saved

Had. Big word. Had my aunt been born with a pair of ******, she’d be my uncle.

 

[Brigadier]

It's not quite the wonder drug it's being touted as.
View attachment 196292
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-53061281

You'd be thankful if one of you or yours were "the one", though. As I would be too.

 

[transam]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53061281

And a whole lot safer than bleach that Mr Trump was touting!

"A cheap and widely available drug can help save the lives of patients seriously ill with coronavirus.

The low-dose steroid treatment dexamethasone is a major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly virus, UK experts say."

Excellent

Yep and the research was carried out in. The UK by UK institutions

The Brits will save the world

 

[EFLImpudence]

Had. Big word. Had my aunt been born with a pair of ******, she’d be my uncle.

That's very unlikely.

 

[fillyboy]

The Brits will save the world

Wouldn't be the first time.

 

[Deleted2797112]

The Oxford vaccine trial appears to be going well too:

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-h...ikely-to-protect-for-a-year-ceo-idUKKBN23N13K

 

[mattylad]

"Widely available"

Not any more, it's being taken off shelves, hidden away and new price tags written as you read this.

 

[Notch7]

Shame on Boris and NHS England. This drug has been around for years, so why didn't they discover the link sooner?

TBF the UK has been undergoing trials for many different drugs, the delay is because this is a novel virus.

they have been doing field trials -ie doctors have been prescribing various drugs but as part of a controlled experiment, but it takes time.

my guess is that there wont be one magic solution that defeats CV19 but a mixture of different treatments and vaccines.

 

[Notch7]

The Oxford vaccine trial appears to be going well too:

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-h...ikely-to-protect-for-a-year-ceo-idUKKBN23N13K

I believe the Japanese are aiming to start clinical trials in July this year -hopefully we will get some good news from somewhere before the year is out.

 

[motorbiking]

The big U.K. pharma companies are scaling to produce 2bn vaccines and the agreement with U.K. govt is not for profit. They are targeting £3-5 per vaccine.

There’s a lot of prep work going on.

 

[EddieM]

Yeah, true maybe. Maybe we are being more honest than other countries. Places without a national health service or regulation in elderly care homes must have worse statistics on deaths.

I'd imagine hhose sort of places are often a bit lax or perhaps not too transparent about their stats too

 

[sodthisforfun]

You'd be thankful if one of you or yours were "the one", though. As I would be too.

Exactly what I thought when I read Himmy's wonderdrug comment too. Any lives saved is a bloomin fantastic thing.

 

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Thanks for your explanation IT Minion, but I'm still none-the-wiser.

The way they're reporting it is very accurate. Which is confusing as most PR releases use slightly different metrics.

Perhaps that is why there is confusion.

With this treatment roughly 25% fewer people who needed to go on ventilators died. In the group that had no particular treatment, other than the usual antibiotics, (very roughly) 40% died. When they were given the treatment only around 30% died.

But it is only effective for those needing oxygen or ventilators?
Those who needed oxygen, 1 in 8 were helped.
Those who needed ventilators 1 in 25 were helped. That's not 25% fewer.
The report said that those who need neither showed no improvement with this drug.

When given to the less slickly people who didn't need ventilators, or weren't suitable for them, it still saved lives but more people needed to be treated to save a life, as most of them would have survived anyway.

But it is only effective for those needing oxygen or ventilators? Those who need neither showed no improvement with this drug?
And only 1 in 20 needed hospital treatment. I'm assuming that the ones not in hospital were not given this drug.

Since this stuff is out of patent and easy to make it is much easier to get hold of

Then why the mention of sufficient stockpile to meet the demand of a potential second wave, and the banning of exporting it?